In late 2020, when I returned back to New York City after six months of pandemic convalescing with a friend and our three dogs in coastal Virginia, inertia set in. I was completely content to work my eight-hour job remotely, curl up on the couch, and live in the world of Netflix and sourdough.
Maybe Happy Ending, a new musical by Will Aronson and Hue Park making its Broadway premiere, is inspired, in part, by Japanese hikikomori, recluses (often male) who hide away for months at a time. “There’s less and less interaction with other people,” Aronson told the New York Times. “We’re all becoming more like shut-ins, disconnected.”
I get it.
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But these aren’t your garden variety recluses. In fact, they’re retired Helperbots (versions 3 and 5, for those wondering), discarded to the outskirts of Seoul once their owners have abandoned them for new versions or a digital detox. A broken charger disrupts the daily doldrum of powering up, replacement parts, and a Waiting for Godot-like purgatory as neighbors James (Darren Criss) and Claire (Helen J. Shen) leap beyond their AI algorithms into full-fledged emotion.
Featuring scenic and video design by Dane Laffrey and George Reeve, Maybe Happy Ending resuscitates what had been a pallid season for design on Broadway (save for The Great Gatsby’s extravagant maximalism). The constantly shifting compartmentalized set, video mapping, and saturated lighting (though designer Ben Stanton could dial back on the binary color coding) feed into a not-so-distant world where real life and the metaverse collide.
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If there’s anyone to wrangle such themes, it’s Tony-winning director Michael Arden (Parade), who unearths beautiful, subtle, and, at times, teary emotions between his leading players. (The cast also features Marcus Choi in multiple roles and a suave throwback performance by Dez Duron as a mid-century homage to James’ love of jazz.)
Most fans know Criss from his Glee days, but this marks his fourth Broadway appearance. He delivers a deliberately rigid physical performance, tapping into his previous training at Italy’s Accademia dell’Arte and nods to early film stars like Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. In contrast, Shen as Claire, a more recent model, appears more fluid in movement (until her battery runs out).
Aronson and Park’s atmospheric score doesn’t necessarily soar but rather glides along like an airport travelator. The approach, deceptively unassuming by most Broadway standards, is daring in form and resists the temptation to insert blustery crescendos and over-amplification.
What we’re left with is a thought-provoking exploration of what it’s like to be human—or desire to be human — and all the turbulence that comes with it. When the pair realizes they’ve fallen in love, Claire asks, “What do we do?” It’s clear that little can be done when the heart takes hold, even if it’s comprised of wires, microchips, and a hard drive.
At a time when it feels like we’ve lost sight of the very things that make us human. It takes two Helperbots to remind us that maybe there’s hope after all.♦
Maybe Happy Ending plays on Broadway at the Belasco Theatre. Tickets are on sale through May 25, 2025.
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